


It's Been Awhile / Unfortunate Circumstances

by KatieBug1998



Series: Supernatural One-Shots, Sick Fics, Injured Fics, and Hurt/Comfort [38]
Category: Grey's Anatomy, Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Doctor Sam Winchester, Gen, Hospitals, Light Angst, Sick Dean Winchester, appendecitis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 14:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14570889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieBug1998/pseuds/KatieBug1998
Summary: Sam is a trauma surgeon at Grey + Sloan Memorial. One day, someone shows up in his ER who he would never expect.





	It's Been Awhile / Unfortunate Circumstances

Sam's in the middle of assessing one of the car accident victims when Owen walks up to him. "You're tagged out, Winchester."

"Sorry?" Sam asks.

"Patient in bed one is asking for you."

"Well, who is it?" Sam looks past Owen but the curtain to bed one is closed.

"He didn't say. He wouldn't let me touch him. He said that even injured he could and would kick my ass if I didn't bring you to him." Owen smirks. "I like the guy."

"Alright. Guess I'll see who it is. Was he in the car accident?"

"Looks like it."

Sam leaves Owen and walks across the room to bed one. He pulls back the curtain to see a familiar face, one he hasn't seen in years. "Sammy. Hey. It's been awhile." Dean grins; there's blood on his teeth from a cut on his lip. There's blood on his cheek and forehead, probably from glass from the windshield.

"I see they improved your face," Sam says breathlessly.

"Nice to see you too." Dean's smile falls a little and Sam's afraid he went too far, but then Dean says, "I'm not doing so good."

"Obviously. You were just in a car wreck."

Dean shakes his head. "I came here to see you." He closes his eyes and breathes deeply.

Sam's heart starts pounding, but he stands there motionless. "Dean, what's wrong?"

"I wasn't feelin' so hot." He opens his eyes to look at Sam. "I think I have appendicitis." Then he moves to the side, away from Sam, and throws up over the side of the bed.

"Son of a bitch," Sam says to himself. Dean lays back on the bed, breathing hard. Sam looks at the nurse by the desk. "Page Meredith Grey _right now_. 911." The nurse picks up the phone and starts dialing.

Sam gets into action. He grabs some scissors off the tray next to him and starts cutting off Dean's shirt. "Meredith Grey," Dean says. "She's the one that got that award, right? Harper Avery."

"Yeah." With the shirt off, Sam palpates Dean's abdomen where his appendix is. Dean's back arches as he yells in pain. "Sorry, sorry," Sam mutters.

"Why'd you call her? I don't need any special treatment." Dean really looks terrible now. He sweating, breathing hard, pale face.

"You're my brother," Sam states. Nothing more needs to be said about the matter. "Follow my finger." Sam holds up his hand. That's when he notices he's shaking.

"Sammy, I'm fine." Either way, his eyes follow Sam's finger as he moves it side to side and up and down.

That's when Meredith runs in. She stops short of the bed. "You paged me 911 for a head lac?" she asks.

Sam looks at Meredith, eyes wide in fear. "I paged you for appendicitis."

She looks at Dean and then at Sam. "What's going on?" she asks suspiciously.

Before Sam can answer, he's not even sure if he could or not, Dean speaks up. "My little brother worries about me too much. I'm fine."

Meredith laughs lightly. "You're Dean."

"That's me." Dean smiles flirtatiously.

"Sam's told us about you."

"Meredith," Sam prompts forcefully.

Meredith then turns serious, probably for Sam's benefit. "Why don't you get the portable ultrasound and have someone page Amelia for the head injury and Jackson for stitches."

Sam leaves after Dean nods at him. He goes up the nurses station and tells them to page Shepherd and Avery. Sam sets himself on autopilot as he walks to find an ultrasound. It's only now that he allows himself to really think about the situation. He hasn't seen Dean in almost two years, or even heard from him. Dean had been supportive of his choice to leave and go to school, mostly. Sure, he was upset that his brother was leaving, but he was proud of him too. It was their dad who was disappointed in him for _abandoning_ them. Skipping out on the family business to go to school. Dean had tried to talk to him, remind him that Sam was going to be saving lives by becoming a surgeon. Dad wouldn't hear it. Maybe that's why Dean hasn't called – Dad. Then again, Sam hasn't been calling him either. He blamed it on his job at first; he was busy, working all the time, especially at the beginning. As time went on, he would think about calling Dean but he just thought it would be too awkward because so much time had passed.

Sam takes a deep breath and mentally shakes himself out. All that can wait. He just needs to bring the ultrasound to Meredith and she'll do what she needs to after that. One step at a time.

By now, he's back in the ER. Amelia's there, doing a neuro check. Jackson's putting on the last of the butterfly bandages on Dean's forehead. Sam hadn't realized he'd stopped walking until Meredith puts a hand on his wrist. She takes the ultrasound from him and they both go back to Dean's bed.

Amelia turns to him and says, "Oh, hey, Sam. Your brother was just telling us about how you used to wet the bed as a kid."

"Amelia!" Meredith chastises.

"Too soon?" Amelia asks. "What? You guys know I'm bad at reading these kinds of situations."

Normally, Sam would think that was funny or he'd at least be embarrassed, but not this time. "How is he?"

"No neuro deficits," Amelia says.

"I just had to put on butterfly bandages," Jackson adds. "No stitches."

Sam nods. "That's good," he says numbly.

"Don't you two have somewhere to be?" Meredith asks.

"Oh. Yeah," Amelia says. "Nice to meet you, Dean. I'm looking forward to hearing some of those embarrassing childhood stories for when you feel better."

"You can count on it," Dean says.

After they leave, Sam asks, "How long have you felt like this?"

Dean shrugs. "A few days." That could mean a week, for all Sam knows. "When I got the pain, I figured it might be appendicitis so I left and came here."

Sam feels anger begin to churn in his stomach like bile. "What about Dad? Why didn't he bring you in?" Dean looks away. "What? Was he out on a job?" A hunt always seemed to take precedent over his own sons.

Dean doesn't say anything for a minute. "He's dead, Sam. Dad's been dead for almost two years. It's why I haven't called."

Sam's head starts spinning; this is all too much.

Sam hears Meredith's muffled voice say, "His appendix burst. Nurse," she calls, "Tell them we need an OR prepped and ready for an appendectomy within the next ten minutes." Dean leans to the side again and vomits into a bag someone had given him. He lays back on the bed and closes his eyes. Meredith pushes back the ultrasound and stands up. "Alright, Dean. We're gonna get you up to surgery and you'll feel a whole lot better when you wake up. Sound good?" Dean exhales and nods. "Sam, you can walk with us, but you can't come in."

"Yeah. I know." He goes to the other side of Dean's bed and undoes the brakes while Meredith does the same on the other side.

Dean opens his eyes to look up at Sam. "I'll be fine, Sammy." They start walking to the OR. "Got a world-class surgeon workin' on me." Sam nods. "Just appendicitis. Ain't that one of the easiest surgeries there is?"

"That's right," Meredith says.

They get on the elevator. "We can talk more after I get out of surgery, okay?"

"Yeah," Sam says.

"Chin up, kiddo." The phrase makes it feel like old times which helps Sam feel a little bit better. Even really sick, Dean is still acting like the older brother. "Aren't you supposed to be a badass trauma surgeon? Huh?"

"This is different."

"It is," Dean states.

They get off the elevator and walk a little ways before stopping. Sam looks at the double doors that say "authorized personnel only." "It's time, Sam. I called Dr. Bailey. She's waiting for you outside the gallery. I figured you'd want to go in and you might want company."

"Hey, man," Dean says, drawing Sam's attention back to him. "See you on the other side."

"Yeah." He pats Dean's shoulder. There's so much more he wants to say but he's only able to utter that single word.

As Meredith pushes the gurney through the doors, Dean gives Sam a two-fingered salute before they close behind him.

• • •

Bailey smiles sympathetically as Sam rounds the corner. She holds her arms out. "I know neither of us are really huggers, but you look like you could use one right now."

Sam walks over and bends down, letting the five-foot-tall women envelop him in a hug. When they pull away, Sam clears his throat and says, "Thanks. I needed that."

"Are we going in?" she asks. Sam nods.

When they get in and sit down, Sam looks at Dean on the table. He's out but they haven't started yet. Meredith's probably getting scrubbed. Sam leans forward, putting his elbows on his knees and resting his chin on his clasped hands.

"So this is the famous Dean," Bailey says. "The older brother who practically raised you. Hm. Everyone's gonna want to meet him. Too bad he's here on such bad circumstances." Sam nods.

They sit in silence until Meredith walks into the operating room. She steps up to the table and takes a scalpel from the scrub nurse. Sam takes a deep breath and leans back in his seat. "You know anyone can do this surgery, right?" Sam looks away and into the comforting eyes of Dr. Bailey. "We let baby surgeons do it."

Sam smiles slightly. "That's true, I guess." He looks at the screen past Bailey that shows the surgery up close.

When Meredith exposes the appendix, Bailey says, "It doesn't look too bad. He hasn't gone into sepsis. His fever wasn't that high last I heard. It should take about half an hour and then it'll be done."

Sam nods. "I haven't talked to him in almost two years." He sees Bailey look at him but he keeps his gaze focused on the screen. "Apparently he hasn't called because our dad died." Bailey doesn't say anything and neither does Sam.

They sit in silence like that until Meredith closes and speaks to the intercom. "I'll get him up into recovery and find you when he's out."

Bailey stands and goes to the intercom on the wall. "We'll be in the attending's lounge."

• • •

When they get there, Amelia, Arizona, Maggie, and Alex are all sitting around the table. The conversation stops when they walk in. Alex stands. "Here, dude, take my seat." Sam walks over to the table and sits down. Someone slides a cup of coffee over to him, but he doesn't take it; he doesn't want everyone to see how his hands are still shaking.

"Hey, Sam," Arizona says. "How are you doing?"

Sam clears his throat. His eyes are trained on the coffee cup. "It's just a lot to take in, I guess. We haven't talked in two years and he just shows up here out of the blue with an exploded appendix."

"My brother did the same thing," Alex says. "Well, he had a hernia but still."

"And I had a brother who survived a gunshot wound," Amelia says.

"Amelia!"

"What? My point is, he lived." Her voice takes on a gentler tone when she says, "It's just appendicitis, Sam. He'll be okay."

"Yeah," Maggie says. "He's already out of surgery. As long as he doesn't get an infection, he'll be fine."

"It's not just that," Sam says.

After a minute, Arizona says, "What is it?"

Sam looks up, out the window. "Before he got taken to surgery, he told me our dad died."

The room is silent. No one knows how to react to that.

"It's not like he had a 'World's Best Dad' mug or anything, but..."

"He was still your dad," Bailey says.

Sam nods.

The door opens and Sam turns his head to see Meredith standing there. "He has a room, but it'll be ten or twenty minutes before he gets up there."

"Do you want anyone to go with you?" Maggie asks.

Sam shakes his head and stands then follows Meredith out of the room.

• • •

"Dean, thank God," Sam says as the orderly wheels in the gurney.

"Told you, Sammy. I'm fine. Feel like a million bucks."

"You look a lot better than before." And he does.

Dean winces in pain as the orderly helps on onto the bed. "How'd my appendix look? Disgusting?"

Sam laughs lightly. "It was pretty gross."

"Cool. You'll have to show me the video of it later."

When the orderly leaves, Sam asks, "Are you gonna tell me about Dad?"

"What's there to tell? He died on the job."

"Was it –?"

"It was a good death. He died to save someone."

Sam's eyes well with tears and he wipes them before they have the chance to fall far. "That's something, I guess."

"So, Sammy. You gotta tell me about your friends here, your job. What's been going on?"

"That's what you wanna talk about?"

Dean shrugs. "You know me. What is it you said? Sublimation? It's kinda my thing."

Sam exhales a laugh. "Yeah, that is pretty _you_ , isn't it."

"Definitely."

"I don't really want to talk about me right now, Dean. Besides, you should get some rest. You were just in a car accident and you had surgery."

"That's probably a good idea."

• • •

Dean doesn't start having visitors (other than Meredith) until the next day, and they all come at once. They stand in a circle around Dean's bed and Sam starts introducing them. "So, this is Owen Hunt, my boss and head of trauma. That's Alex. He's been here with me since day one."

"Oh, yeah," Dean says. "You told me about him. I'm guessing he's not a misogynistic pig anymore."

The room laughs. Alex straightens his lab coat. "I've moved on from 'evil spawn' to respectable pediatric surgeon."

"And you know Meredith and her sister-in-law Amelia and that's Meredith's half-sister Maggie."

"Yeesh. Is everyone here related?" Dean asks.

"In some way or another, basically," Sam answers. "Miranda Bailey, our chief of surgery. Let's just say you don't want to mess with her." Bailey rolls her eyes.

Alex whistles. "Ain't that right."

"You've met Jackson, head of plastics. Arizona Robbin, a great peds surgeon and the woman we have to thank for Alex's graduation from evil spawn. And this is Callie Torres –" Dean is obviously about to flirt so Sam says, "Arizona's _wife_."

"Oh," Dean says.

"You're welcome," Sam says to Callie. "I just saved you from hearing a terrible pickup line."

Callie smiles. "Good to know."

• • •

Dean ends up charming everyone. After everyone's left, Sam's convinced his coworkers like his brother more than him. 

Sam closes the door behind everyone and goes back to sit by Dean's bed. "How do you feel?" he asks. 

"A little tired, a little sore. Nothing I can't handle." 

"Yeah, you should be able to get out of here tomorrow." Sam clears his throat. "So, after an appendectomy, you're supposed to wait two to four weeks before getting back to work. You can stay with me. I really don't want you out hunting after surgery." Sam doesn't know if he needs to use the puppy dog eyes, but he does anyway. 

"That might be a good idea. You got Netflix?" 

Sam laughs lightly. "Yeah." 

• • •

Dean stays for exactly three weeks. It was a good three weeks. They bantered like they used to. Dean talked about hunts and Sam talked about his job. They talked about the bad stuff too, but it was good overall. 

Then Sam gets home one day to find a sticky note on the refrigerator. "Found a hunt in Oregon. I'm fine. Call you later. Dean." 

 

**Author's Note:**

> whoops i haven't reread this to proof it
> 
> pls comment if there are errors (like grammar or continuity)


End file.
